PRs need bloggers just as much as bloggers need PRs, so how do you get this relationship going?

Well... How would you impress someone on a first date? First impressions are everything and that's how it is in business, so let's use this as a guide!


Look your best. 

Make sure your blog is looking up to scratch before you approach brands and PRs. Brands have an image that they want to sustain, if it is a luxury product and your brand doesn't scream luxury -we don't have a match and it's just not going to work...

Be confident. 

Bloggers are just as influential as The Sunday Times if they have the right audience. Don't doubt your abilities. Approach PRs expecting to have something come out of it!

Be consistent. 

Ensure that you post regularly but with quality content. This is likely to gain you a larger following, but also gives the PR confidence that you will actually promote their brand and in good time.

Give them your number (s).

Make yourself easy to work with. Create a media kit all about your blog, stats, figures and audience so that they don't have to keep asking. This makes it easy for you but also easier for the PR person. It is also quicker way of keeping track of the success of your blog for your own reference. Make it downloadable from your website if you don't feel confident enough to send out large files to people you don't know yet.

Stay in touch.

Even if it's not love at first email this time, keep in touch as you never know when that brand may want to work with you. If you don't have 20,000 Twitter followers just yet or you don't get enough unique monthly users, stay optimistic and get back in touch when your blog is more of what they are looking for.




I have been lucky enough to gain valuable work experience in the PR industry and in 2013 I was one of the winners of the 'Employability Challenge'  at Birmingham City University.  
Here's a few simple but realistic tips to getting the most out of your internship, but also being invaluable to your employers. No matter what job you undertake it will never be just what it says on the tin! 

Say YES. 

Because life starts at the end of your comfort zone. How do you know you can't do the task if you don't try? Will staying an extra 5 minutes really make that much difference to your whole day? Saying yes could lead to gaining a whole new set of skills or even just leave you in good stead to getting a call back when you finish your studies. Grad job sorted! 

Say NO.

Okay so I lied, saying no is important at times. If you have no idea how to do something it is always better to be honest, than waste valuable time making a botch job of it! Employers will respect your honesty and may even give you extra help to learn how to do something new.

Stay Positive.

Staying positive when times are tough, when you are tired and when the pressure is on is when you will stand out of the crowd. Attitude is everything, it's not always the smartest people that get to the top, it is often the people that are willing to work hard but with a smile on their face!

ASK. 

If you don't feel fulfilled in your job role and feel like you can take on a few extra challenges, offer to support another member of the team. This will make your CV look even better, but also show a hard working attitude. 
Not sure how to do something? It is better to ask than to make a mistake and waste valuable time (go back to the part where I told you to say no) and your colleagues/employers will respect you for your honesty. 

Make Friends.

Not only is it important to have friends that you can chill out (or party) with outside of work, and it is even better when they can understand your working hours, but make friends because you never know where they will end up in 5 years time! Making friends with the same career aspirations as you is great, you could end up as business partners.
Is your work experience PR? Building relationships with the media will mean that they will come to you with opportunities, and may even pull the odd favour!
Use Linkedin to connect with people and start with me



It's the start of a new year and you've told yourself that you are going to get all of your assignments in on time, chuck THAT pair of jeans away and stop wasting money on takeaways, but it hasn't happened yet. So what's stopping you? 

Although it is no longer January and the exciting anticipation of a new year is long gone, it is never too late to start doing the things that you feel will improve your life. Successful people don't use time as an excuse, and like they say....

 'you have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyonce' 

So here's a few ways to become more productive, without it feeling like a chore. 

Write it down.

The best thing that I did in 2014 was buy
a diary, and now I can't imagine life without one. Write down your plans for the weekend, write down what you plan to spend on food for the week, note down your shifts at work or even just draw a smiley face on a Friday to remind you it's not too far away.

When it's on paper, it's not in your head... and that's always a good thing!

Read about it.

Read career blogs about people you aspire to be like and find out what they do to stay productive, or perhaps how they got to where they are . You may find that it's something you can do, whether you are a student, a single parent or working full time in an unsatisfying job. 

My favourite is NYC PR Girls

Talk about it.

Speak it into fruition. If you tell someone that you are going to do something it is more likely that you will feel compelled to do it. What if they ask how it went? No pressure, but if you know it will come up in conversation, better get to work! 

I hope these tips help! 

You had me at 'dinner?' I love to follow creative Instagram pages that inspire me to cook something interesting during the week, (or maybe just make me feel really guilty about a mid week takeaway)
If you are a sucker for great photography or just like to eat, check out these amazing foodie Instagram pages that will have you shopping for quinoa in no time! 

Cute matchy breakfasts from a quirky couple in London 



Sharing food from the foodie community worldwide 

Endless images of delicious 'foodz'

(Now Starving)

Yummy recipes you will want to make at home...that same day





Recently the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) released a 'reminder' (more like a disguised telling off) to Bloggers reminding them of the rules surrounding sponsored content, advertised youtube posts and paid for blog posts. This has caused a massive fuss in the blogger community and it seems that all of the 'big' bloggers are on their tip toes, reminding their followers that most of their posts aren't actually sponsored and that they basically, need to do some sponsored content to keep the blog alive.

Why Now?

With the rise of bloggers seemingly taking over the world, such as Zoella who has over 6 million followers, Tanya Burr who has released a constantly sold out beauty range and Pixiwoo who created the (amazing) Real Technique Brushes , the youtube and blogging world is in the national media at least once a week. Check out this recent article in Stylist for a recent example and more info. So understandably its more important than ever for them to have their legal stuff in line!

The ASA have said that its because they have been inundated with emails from bloggers asking them to clear up what the standards are for blog posts and Youtube posts. They now have to put on the post whether it is a paid for advertorial or if they have been gifted the products. Here is an example of an advertorial.

From A Bloggers Perspective...



Sponsored content is crucial to full time bloggers to keep their blog alive, advertisers place relevant links to be placed in the sidebars of the blogs and in turn, bloggers receive money per click and also a small fee for any items sold through the link on their page.

It also helps bloggers to come up with new and interesting content that their readers will enjoy and it gets pretty expensive buying products to write about each week, so of course if your favourite store offers you a sample for free it makes sense to accept it and write a post you were going to do anyway!
This also doesn't mean that bloggers are forced to write a positive review so it can be a win/win situation for bloggers that want to make money from blogging and for brands that want to reach out to that particular bloggers readers, and get coverage on their product.

From a Brand/Advertiser's/PRs Perspective...



As a PR myself, the whole point is to get coverage for your brand without paying people to talk about. This makes the brand more credible, gets honest feedback and people are more likely to want go for a product that people haven't been paid to write about. a PR will send a sample to a blogger they admire and this gets coverage for the product and this is instead of forking out thousands for advertising.

Why do the bigger bloggers get all the free stuff? you might ask... Well as a PR it is all about return on investment, so the more followers you have, the more coverage your product/brand will get and this in turn proves to the owner of the product that they have invested well in a PR rather than an advertiser!

How to get PRs to notice you? - To avoid this being a super long post I'll do this separately, grab a piece of paper and pen! 


image source: http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/how-to-start-a-vlog-yourself-youtube-tips-advice-zoella-anna-saccone-joly-tanya-burr-louise-sprinkleofglitter
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